At meeting, Mohip discusses Chromebooks

At meeting, Mohip discusses Chromebooks

YOUNGSTOWN

A small group of eight discussed furthering education outside of the classroom by allowing students to take home Youngstown City Schools Chromebooks.

The problem school districts nationwide are facing is a digital divide, CEO Krish Mohip said during Tuesday’s CEO Citizens Coalition meeting.

“Are we missing an opportunity for our children by not sending home the Chromebooks with them?” he asked.

Coalition member John Jemison said it’s a matter of who will be accountable and responsible for the Chromebooks outside of the school walls.

Mohip said he would look into getting a lawyer to work on some terms of checking out the Chromebooks for outside of class use and see what they could do about enforcing student accountability.

Loaded gun found in car

YOUNGSTOWN

Reports said police found a loaded 9 mm handgun inside a car on the East Side.

Officers pulled over a car about 9:15 p.m. Monday on Albert Street after they saw the car speeding and several people inside hanging out the windows, reports said. When the car stopped, the people inside ran toward a wooded area, but one of them, later identified as Martize Daniels, 18, of Dogwood Lane, hesitated before running away,

Daniels was later found on Dogwood after other officers were called for assistance, reports said. Reports said Daniels was ordered to the ground and he complied, but he then tried to get up before he could be handcuffed. Reports said there was a “significant struggle” before Daniels could be taken into custody.

Inside the car, police found the gun where Daniels was sitting. He was booked into the Mahoning County jail on charges of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, obstructing official business and resisting arrest.

Pest-control ordinance

GIRARD

City council this week passed a pest-control ordinance that requires commercial structures to be free from parasitic insects, birds, abandoned animals, rodents and other pests before they are inhabited.

Council member Fran Wilson said the ordinance is an update on the commercial property maintenance code and will require landlords to exterminate any bedbugs before new tenants move in.

Dem Party secretary

WARREN

Emily Webster Love has replaced Ralph Infante as Trumbull County Democratic Party secretary effective immediately, county Democratic Party Chairman Dan Polivka said.

Infante, 62, a longtime party officer, 24-year Niles mayor and former Trumbull County Board of Elections member, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday after being convicted on 22 criminal charges relating to corruption and gambling.

Polivka said Webster Love is a journalist and has been “serving and assisting [as party secretary] since the beginning of May.”

Walmart mulls charges

BOARDMAN

Walmart may pursue charges after a man threatened to shoot an employee outside the store, according to a police report.

Two store employees reported hearing a man say, “I’m going to get a cab back and bust a cap,” to two of his friends while the employees stood outside on break.

The man had attempted to make a return, but he was denied, which prompted an outburst, the report said.

The suspect was described as a white male in his 30s or 40s. Walmart told police it had interest in pursuing charges and would provide surveillance footage, the report said.

Attempted robbery

BOARDMAN

Township police are investigating an attempted robbery that occurred outside the PNC Bank on Market Street on Monday night.

About 9 p.m., an employee of a nearby business told police a man approached her and tried to rob her as she made the business’s nightly deposit at PNC.

The man told her to give him the bag, and she told him it was just checks, according to a police report. The man continued to approach until two cars passed by and he fled on foot.

Report ill, dead raccoons

YOUNGSTOWN

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking people to report dead raccoons or those behaving in an unusual way as they prepare to drop rabies bait in the Mahoning Valley.

The USDA and the Ohio Department of Health will begin distributing rabies vaccine baits in eastern Ohio starting Saturday, said a news report from 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

Anyone who sees a dead raccoon or one that is sick-acting or behaving unusually is asked to report the animal.

Increased surveillance and continued vaccine baiting in eastern Ohio is underway because of rabies-positive animals reported from Stark County during 2017.

Grass program begins

YOUNGSTOWN

The city kicked off its grass-remediation program Tuesday.

City street department workers are cutting grass on vacant land and private contractors are cutting grass by vacant homes.

To report grass 8 inches or taller, email grasscutting@youngstownohio.gov or call 330-744-3186.

Also, those interested in being added to the grass-contractors list can send an email to the same address.

Help needed with flags

YOUNGSTOWN

Volunteers are needed at 9 a.m. Saturday at Oak Hill Cemetery, 344 Oak Hill Ave., on the city’s South Side, to place Memorial Day flags on the graves of all who served to preserve our freedom.

The group will be led by Bill Broadhead and Steffon Wydell Jones.

Volunteers will meet at the service building at the back of the cemetery. For information, contact Jones at 330-259-2091.